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(No Model.) v 2 sheets-sheet '1. J. R; CHAPMAN. ELEVATED RAILWAY.

N, PUERS. Wow-lithograp Wmhlnglvm OC.

J. R. CHAPMAN. ELEVATED RAILWAY.

0.400.,054." Patented Manges, 1889.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-'-Sheet 2.

N. PETERS PhMO-Lilhugrnpiur. Washington. D. C

NITED STATES rriicn.

ATENT TIIIRDS TO CHARLES P. BALL A PILZXCE.

ND CHARLES 'r. POLLARD, or sAME' E LEVATE D RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,054, dated March26, 1889. Application filed November 13, 1888. Serial No. 290,749- (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN REID CHAPMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Montgomery, in the county of Montgomery and State ofAlabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElevatedRailways; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a carrier system for transporting articles bymeans of a carriage running upon a suitable track or way and impelled bya traveling rope or cable, and has for its objects to improve theconstruction and arrangement of parts composing such system as tofacilitate the erection and manipulation thereof and increase theefficiency of the structure as a whole; and with such objects in viewthe invention by which they are accomplished will be hereinafterparticularly described, and then sought to be specifically defined bythe claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart hereof.

Figure l is a side elevation of the way and carriage with the track andtiller ropes broken. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is aside view of the carriage and suspending means and a portion of thetrack and tiller ropes on a larger scale than Figs. 1 and 2. I ig. 4 isan end view of Fig. 3. Figs. 5, 6, and '7 are respectively side, plan,and end views of the adjustable switch.

In the drawings,- the letter A designates a series of posts erected atsuitable distances apart and properly supported, and they may be bracedby guy-ropes 13, connected at one end to stakes C, secured in theground, and at the other end to metal caps D, surmonnting the posts,while cross brace-rods E, extending from one end post to the other, atthe same end, will serve to brace the posts between each other. Theseposts support both the tiller and track or rail ropes.

The track or rail rope F is illustrated as connected at one end to astake-post, F, thence passed over a pulley or sheave, a, in one of theposts A, thence over a similar pulley in the post at the other end ofthe structure, thence around a pulley-block, G, connected to astake-post, F and thence backward over pulleys or sheaves supported inthe other two posts A, and thence connected to a stakepost, F by blockand tackle G, by which the track may be kept taut.

Instead of making the track in one continuous piece, as described, it isobvious that it may be made in sections and each section provided withthe block and tackle G, for drawing it taut, and especially may the samebe desirable and necessary where the posts are too far apart to permitthe track to be kept taut by a single block and tackle, as illustrated.Such change, however, does not involve invention, and being only thework of the mechanic,.need only be adverted to. It may also be notedthat the track-rope will be clamped by suitable means next to each post,so as to assist in holding each post to its proper position-forinstance, by a clamp, H.

The tiller-rope, which moves the carriage or carrier along the track, isdesignated by the letter I, and is suitably supported with reference tothe track, it being represented as above the track and passing aroundpulleys or sheaves b, journaled within the posts A, and also around ashaft, J, driven by connection with steam or any other suitable sourceof power and transmitting motion to the tiller-rope, which, as shown, isan endless rope, so as to impel the carrier or carriage down one trackand back along the other.

In order that the carrier or carriage may be transferred from one trackto the other, I provide a movable switch, which can be shifted along thetrack to the desired point, and over this switch the carriage is movedby hand from one track to the other. The switch may be of any suitableform and construction for the purpose, but the following is con- 5sidered to be the best construction: -A curved rail, K, rests upon thetrack and is secured thereto by any suitable form of clamp, c, that willhold it to the track and yet permit it,

when desired, to be shifted. It is braced IOO laterally by a cross-bar,L, preferably made integral with it, and also resting upon the tracks,with its ends extended beyond the track s. This bar, it will beOlJSOl'YQtl, stiffens 5 the switch-rail between the tracks, so that thecarriage can be more firmly and steadily transferred from one track tothe other. The switch-rail is also connected to the tiller-rope byupright braces L, provided with sheaves o (7, bearing against oppositesides of the tiller- .rope, so that the latter may pass freely betweenthe same, and these upright braces maybe strengthened by the lateralrods c, connecting them to the evtended ends of the crossbar L. :5 Itwill be observed, too, that the braces L connect the tiller and trackropes, so that where the track-rope, which is below the tiller-rope, ispressed down by the weight of the carriage the tiller-rope is pulleddown by the :o depression of the lower t-raclerope. The connection ofthe braces to the tiller and track ropes by the construction shown anddescribed is also such that in whichever direction either the track orthe tiller rope be r 5 moved the other one of the two will be moved inthe same directimi, so that whether either one be moved up or down theother will be moved the same way, and so the uniformity of the spacebetween the two ropes be preserved whether the track-rope be locatedeither above orbelow the tiller-rope. .l-ly thus connecting the trackand tiller rope at about the point where the carriage is switched fromone track to the other the rope and track 55 are held at the samerelativedistance from each other, so that the grip of the carriage canreadily grasp the tiller-rope over the re turn track when brought intoposition to travel on that track. It will be observed that to unlesssome such means are employed the weight of the carriage, after it haspassed from one track and its grip released from the tiller-rope, willso bear down the other track as to cz'trry the grip out of line with thetiller- 5 rope, so that there will be difficulty in making theconnection; but'when the track and the tiller-rope are held at the samerelative distance apart the connection ot the grip to the tiller-ropecan be readily and automatically so made as soon as the transfer fromone track to the other is completed.

The carriage or carrier is designated by the letter M, and. in the formillustrated consists of the grooved wheels or pulleys N, j ournaled in aframe, Q, and bearing upon the cabletrack h. A vertical moving grip orclampbar, 1, extends across the top of the carrierframe and is designedto clamp the tiller-rope between it and the frame, so that the carriagewill be carried along by the rope. The upright arm of the clamping-barpasses through a guide-sleeve, f, attached to the frame, and is formedwith an arm, g, to which is attached one end of a suitable spring, Q,the other end being connected to an arm, 11, extending from the frame.This spring serves to lift the clamp from bimling contact on. thetillerrope when the clamp is released, and then the carriage will remainmotionless, while the hlllOlf-lUPO continues to travel. Theclampinging-bar is also connected by a suitable spring, R, to a chain,S, which is attached to an operating-lever, 'l, by means of which theclamp bar is thrown against the tiller-rope. This lever may be held toits locking position by engaging a ratchet-bar, U, on the bucket orvessel V, or otherwise. The function of the spring R is to overcome thevariable distance between the carrier and bucket, and thus relieve thegrip or clamping bar of too sudden application.

The bucket or article to be transported may be connected to the carrierby any suitable means, and in the drawings is illustrated as connectedthereto by differential pulleys \V. Any other means, however, may beemployed, and if the bucket is used it mayhaveahinged bottom providedwith a spring, i, for closing it after its contents are discharged, andwith a bolt, j, for holding it closed.

It will be noticed that the carrier is applied so as to bring the openend of thegrip on the outside of the track, in order that the grip mayslip from off the tiller-rope when the carrier is being switched fromone track to the other.

I have described what I consider to be the best construction andarrangement of parts; but still I do not mean to restrict myself todetails, except where expressly so claimed, as it is obvious thatchanges can bemadc therein without departing from the invention. It willalso be stated that the length of the road is dependent only on thedistance to which it is desired to transport the article to be conveycd.The use which can be made of the road is also almost unlimited, as itcan be used for transporting cotton, ores, coal, and

material of almost every other description. It

can also be used under ground, as well as over ground, and whilecomparatively inexpensive to construct it is substantial when built andall its parts cooperate to give the greatest eiiiciency in a system ofthis sort.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claimis- 1. The combination of the upright posts, the tiller-rope passingaround sheaves supported by the posts, means for moving said rope,stalce-posts to the rear of the upright posts, the track-rope passedaround sheaves supported by the upright posts and connec ted. to thestake-posts, means for keeping said track-rope taut, and a carriagemoving over said track-rope and provided with a grip clamping saidtiller-rope and adapted to be released therefrom to stop the movement ofone carriage while the tiller-rope continues to travel to move anothercarriage, sul )stantiallyas and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of the ilpright posts, the traveling tiller-ropesupported by said posts, means for moving said. rope, StitlC-POSlS tothe rear of said u )right posts, 1|lf lt0l(-l'0])( in said upright postsand connected at one end of the structure to a stake-post by block andtackle and at the other end of the struct ure passed around asheave-block connected to the stake-post, and a carriage moving oversaid track-rope and provided with a grip clamping said tiller-rope andadapted to be released therefrom to stop the movement of one carriagewhile the tiller-rope continues to travel to move another carriage,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination of the double elevated track, the travelingtiller-rope, the carriage running upon said track and provided with agrip connecting it with the tiller-rope, the switch-track connecting thetwo tracks upon which the carriage runs, for the purpose of shifting thecarriage from one track to the return track, and a brace connecting themain track and tiller-rope, said brace clasping the tiller-rope and maintrack on both their upper and lower faces to insure the movement of onewith the other and prevent disconnection of either from the other,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination, with the tiller-rope and the main track, of theswitch composed of the cross-bar resting upon the main track, the curvedtrack secured to said bar and connecting with the main track, and theupright braces provided with the friction-rolls, between which thetiller-rope passes, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination of the double elevated track, the travelingtiller-rope, the carriage running upon said track, the vertically-movinggrip connected to thecarriage and adapted to clamp the tiller-rope, thelever connected with said grip to clamp and lock .it to the tiller-rope,and the spring connected with the frame and the grip to disconnect thegrip from the tiller-rope when the lever is released, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination, with the carriage and spring-actuated grip andlever, of the second spring interposed between the lever and spring-gripto relieve the grip of too sudden application, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

7. The combination, with the double elevated track, of the switch-trackconnecting the two tracks and provided with means for connecting thetrack and tiller-rope, said means embracing bot-l1 the track and tillerrope on their upper and lower faces, to hold them together, andadjustable along the length of the tracks, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

I11 testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JOHN REID CHAPMAN.

Witnesses:

H. KENNEWORTH, A. HORN.

